


heart over matter

by whimsyappletea



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Genre: Awkward Crush, Awkward Flirting, Drama, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Fluffy Ending, Foiled Confessions, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Humor, Implied Relationships, Relationship Advice, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 04:07:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7027861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimsyappletea/pseuds/whimsyappletea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You’ve got this, Birch.”</p>
<p>—four times he fails with guidance, one time he doesn’t on his own. BrendanMay, Wally.</p>
            </blockquote>





	heart over matter

**Author's Note:**

> written for **coconut** s birthday last year - and this was a complete _nightmare_ to write, with nearly four weeks of on-off writing, three rewrites and way too much editing oml
> 
> set post-champion; basically just brendanmay with a side of wally... oh and a hinted oddball steven pairing too heheh

.  
.  
.

_Deep breaths now. In, out. In, out._

“Uh,” he starts. When the girl continues to hum her silly tune as she scrubs a dish clean, oblivious to his inner turmoil, he clears his throat and tries again. “I, uh—May?”

She looks up from the sink full of soap suds, attention finally caught by his serious tone. His heart jumps to his throat under her wide, curious gaze, and he almost considers backing down right there and then. _Al_ most.

_You’ve got this, Birch._

Squaring his shoulders and steeling his resolve, he says, “I like you.”

May wipes her wet hands against her borrowed apron and turns to face him properly, offering a crooked little smile of confusion. “Yeah? I like you too.”

_Okay, maybe you’ve somewhat got this._

“No, that’s—I mean—” He struggles with a few possible replies sifting through his mind, dismissing several cheesy ones before finally settling on a simple: “I have feelings for you.”

The girl’s cherubic face quickly clears and lights up with comprehension; his breathing grows shallow and the line of his jaw tenses despite himself as he awaits her answer.

_This is it. No matter what her reply is, you’re prepared, Birch. In, out. In, ou—_

“Of _course_ you have feelings for me, silly, it’s friendship!”

His brain splutters to a halt and his expression crumbles entirely, but May doesn’t seem to notice—she turns back to the dirty dishes and continues, “ _Jeez_ , Brendan, you really scared me for a moment! And here I thought you actually had something super important to say!”

“No, _noooo_ , of course not. It’s nothing.” Brendan rubs his temples. Shakes his head in disbelief, and repeats, “Nothing important at all.”

.

**heart over matter**

_id been hoping youd catch up somehow, like im way too far ahead—  
every time i think im gaining ground,  
im misunderstood again._

.

“Oh, wow. Um. She really said that?”

Wally hadn’t really known what to expect when the Professor’s son swooped down out of nowhere to grab him onto his Salamence, but this is... let’s just say _‘interesting’_ is putting it lightly. Especially when you consider the fact that they’re discussing the older boy’s love life _while flying several thousand feet above ground_.

“ _Yes_ ,” Brendan groans, staring into the clear skies of Hoenn like they hold the key to young romance. “Sometimes I really can’t believe she’s survived fifteen years without any major incidents.”

“To be fair, recently she’s had _you_ around to keep her out of too much trouble,” Wally points out as he shifts on Salamence’s back uneasily. This is far more dangerous than anything he’s ever done at the Battle Resort. Actually, scratch that—anything he’s ever done, _period_. “Maybe... give her time?”

“I don’t _have_ time, not when she’s making new friends by the day. I mean, what if someone else sweeps her off her feet—what if it’s someone like _Stone_?”

“Um, I don’t think Mr Stone likes—” 

“He’s always around her,” Brendan gripes. As if sensing his trainer’s torment, Salamence’s flying becomes erratic—much to Wally’s unspoken horror. “And she’s always, _always_ hanging off his arm. What if they start dating. _What if they kiss._ Oh, god, this is worse than I’d thought.”

“But I’m pretty sure Mr Stone likes Ms Ph—”

“You know what? _This is war._ And you, my friend, are going to help me.” The older boy grins boyishly, reaching out a reflexive hand to grab his trademark hat just before it gets swept away by the strong winds. “I mean, your first idea to outright confess didn’t work very well, but I’m sure you have other _great_ ones!”

“Y-yeah, sure, but could you ask your Salamence to—”

“Al _right_! SALAMENCE, LET’S KICK THINGS UP A NOTCH!”

Salamence roars in acknowledgement, speeding up to what has to be terminal velocity, and it takes all Wally has in him not to shriek outright as he clings precariously to the dragon pokémon for dear life.

.

_‘Extensive research in the Kalos region has shown that Mega Evolution cannot be achieved without a strong bond between a trainer and their pokémon – despite having the Key Stone and its respective item to resonate with._

_‘“Mega Evolution is just one way to make pokémon stronger,” explains Pokémon Professor Sycamore. “Trainers don’t have to rely on this mysterious transformation to bring out the strength in their pokémon. True power comes from within, oui?”_

_‘There have been many different theories on how Mega Evolution came to be. Some say that –‘_

Wally’s intense concentration fizzles when Brendan walks in. He raises his head to greet him with a smile—until the older boy falls face first into the bed he’s curled up on without saying a word.

“Um.” The green-haired boy glances back to memorize the page number—making a mental note to thank his cousin for adding more his collection here in Verdanturf while he’d been away—before closing his book and tucking it aside. Carefully, he ventures, “I... take it that the flowers didn’t go over smoothly?”

“Conventional, my foot,” Brendan grumbles into the pillow. “It was a disaster.”

“What—”

“Did you know that May has a huge fan-base for winning so many contests. Like _holy-guacamole-I-just-got-stampeded-and-tossed-around-like-garden-salad_ kind of huge.” At Wally’s stunned silence, he sighs theatrically. “Yeah, me neither. The red, pink and white roses became red, pink and white petals. Just. _Petals._ ”

“Oh.” Wally hadn’t expected the girl to care if the flowers were ruined or not. That doesn’t quite sound like the May he knows, but— “Maybe we could secure the bouquet a little better next time?”

Brendan rolls over to give him an odd, measured look. “What next time? She took them and clutched them close to herself like they were national treasures.”

“E-eh? Then what was the problem?”

“She looked so cute in her contest outfit that I couldn’t do anything other than stare.”

Silence.

“I’m sorry,” he offers under _Wally’s_ own stare of mild incredulity. “By the time I realized I was supposed to confess she was already out the door and shouting a goodbye over her shoulder.”

More silence.

“YES, SO. _ANYWAY._ ” Brendan pumps a fist in the air, undeterred. “BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD!”

.

Wally bites his lip with the tall menu propped up in front of him, trying to feel as inconspicuous as he looks. Absently he thanks the waiter who’s arrived with his order of lava cookies, instead devoting most of his attention to his friends sitting one table over and just within hearing range.

So far, so good; Brendan must’ve been a little paranoid when he’d told him to tag along discreetly for the dinner date— _just in case_ , he’d insisted, _you never know._

But come on, It’s May and _food_ , for crying out loud—if there’s any way for this confession to fail, Wally is having some serious trouble seeing it.

“How’s the meal?”

“Great, great! I’m stuffed!” May laughs, kind and carefree. The corner of her lips has a smudge of sauce, but she doesn’t seem to mind. “Are you sure you don’t wanna split the bill with me, though? Mauville can be pretty pricey, y’know!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Brendan replies graciously, wiping his mouth with a napkin before setting it down. “Anyway, May, the main reason I brought you out tonight is to tell you something.”

“Mm...”

He lowers his head to stare holes into the used napkin. _Try another way of saying it, but keep it simple_ , Wally remembers advising him a couple of hours before. Thankfully the older boy seems to have taken his words to heart, as he says, “I guess there’s no other way to put it: I’m really attracted to you.”

“ _Mm..._ ”

Brendan glances up with a confused frown at her non-committal reply, waggling his fingers in her direction to catch her attention.

She startles, swiping her knuckles against her chin. From the corner of Wally’s eye, it looks like she’d been drooling a bit, too. In fact, he realizes over small nibbles of his lava cookie, she’s giving that all-too-familiar embarrassed grin, as if she hadn’t been—

“Oh, sorry, sorry! I was just thinking about what to order for dessert! You were saying?”

—listening.

Well, then.

The green-haired boy decides to take back his earlier thoughts—apparently May’s attraction to food is the one and only way this confession can fail.

“ON TO PLAN D,” Brendan mouths at him when the girl isn’t looking, and he bites his lip once more to suppress a long-suffering sigh.

.

“So, wait. Um. You want me to do _what_ for _what_ now?”

“I want you—” Brendan points at him. “—to ask Gallade—” He points at the blade pokémon blinking curiously at them both. “—to attack May.” He points over his shoulder, where May is grooming her team with a merry little song.

Wally stares. He quickly realizes that his friend is dead serious when his expression doesn’t waver in the slightest. “Oh. But... _why?_ ”

“It’s the perfect plan,” Brendan exclaims, slinging an arm over the younger boy’s thin shoulders. They’re crouched in an awkward position and hidden from view behind some bushes, but it’s honestly a miracle that the girl hasn’t noticed them yet. “You said to _impress her_ , right? Nothing better than the good ole _save-the-damsel-from-a-rogue-pokémon_ routine!”

“Um.” That... hadn’t exactly been what Wally had in mind when he suggested that.

“ _Exactly._ And this is where Gallade comes in.”

“I don’t think this is, um, necessary,” he tries, fidgeting with the hem of his collared shirt. “I mean, Gallade won’t hurt a fly, and not to mention he’s really soft on May’s Gardevoir, so—”

“Woah, woah, hold up— _soft on May’s Gardevoir?_ Really?” Brendan waggles his eyebrows suggestively at the mild-mannered psychic/fighting pokémon. “That’s _egg_ -cellent news.”

“ _Brendan_ ,” Wally gasps, scandalized.

The older boy chortles at his expression, leaning in to ruffle his hair. “Re _lax_ , kiddo, I was just kidding! Now, Gallade, I know this might be tough on you, but I need—” His sentence breaks off abruptly when he turns to look at May again.

“What is it?” Wally prompts, but Brendan is unresponsive, standing still as a statue with his face ashen like storm clouds. He tiptoes and peers over his shoulder, paling several shades himself when he notices the tall, affable man whom his friend had declared war on just mere days ago.

Finally snapping out of his stupor with a vehement clench of his fist, Brendan hisses, “ _Steven mother-flippin’ Stone._ ”

.

She grins in delight upon seeing a familiar face in the middle of Route 123, wrapping her arms around Steven’s waist in a tight, friendly squeeze. “It’s been a while, Steven! How’ve you been?”

“Yes, it’s good to see you too, May,” Steven says, fixing her lopsided bow with nimble fingers. It’s obvious that he regards her as nothing more than a little sister, even from where Wally is hiding. “I’ve been fine, thank you. I was on my way to train my pokémon at Mt. Pyre, actually.” And then, as an afterthought: “Would you like to tag along?”

May’s eyes glitter at the prospect of another thrilling battle with the ex-Champion, and her lips part as if to accept his offer—

A blur of red and black springs out of the bushes like a golbat from hell and squeezes between the pair, prying them apart rather purposefully. “She’d _love_ to join, but she’s already agreed to come with _me_ to the Department Store over in Lilycove. _Right_ , May?”

The girl blinks. “Wh—Brendan? Where’d _you_ come from?”

Steven chuckles, completely unfazed by the boy’s sudden appearance, and runs a hand through his silver hair. “Well, why didn’t you say so? Run along then, you two—we can catch up another day, so no worries.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” Brendan’s smile is polite but strained around the edges. Clearly he doesn’t believe his own words, not even for a second. “Let’s go, May. Good _bye_ , Stone.”

“Eh.” May still seems quite bewildered by the whiplash of events as she glances between him and Steven. For a moment she’s torn, before she shakes her head in apology and runs after her friend. “A-ah, wait up, Brendan—!”

Steven stands there and watches them disappear into the distance with an odd, amused smile on his face. After a moment, he says, “You can come out now. They’re long gone.”

Wally pops up from behind some foliage, his Gallade in tow. “Nothing escapes you, huh, Mr Stone,” he muses, laughing a little.

The man offers an elegant shrug. “Brendan is obvious; May is oblivious. I do hope he succeeds soon, if only for his apparent dislike for me to dissipate a little.” Just then, his PokéNav Plus beeps, alerting him to a call. “Ah, excuse me for a moment, Wally—hello? Yes, Phoebe, I’m on my way. No, I’m not delaying on purpose. Was that what Dusknoir told you? Mmhm, well, it’s not true. Of _course_ I’m not calling her a liar...”

Wally watches as Steven’s eyes grow soft, indulging in his fellow Elite Four member’s ghost-talking talents. It’s like his serious, unflappable exterior has shed a fraction, revealing a glimpse of that warm compassion he rarely shows to other people.

Heading to Mt. Pyre, training, a phone call about meeting Phoebe—so Wally’s hunch about him had been right, after all.

Steven notices his contemplative stare. Lifts an index finger to his lips, slow and playfully enigmatic.

_Ah_ , the green haired boy thinks. This secret’s safe with him.

Brendan really has nothing to worry about with regards to competition; it’s just a pity that he’s far too wrapped up in his own jealousy and confession woes to notice.

.

“None of the tactics you’ve suggested are _working_ ,” Brendan bemoans good-naturedly; he’s still pretty optimistic and upbeat despite the string of failures under his belt. They’ve retreated to Wanda’s house in Verdanturf, lounging around in Wally’s bedroom once more.

“Remind me again how you failed to confess to May at Lilycove?” Wally mumbles, drawing his knees to his chest and boring holes into the floorboards.

“Shopping drains your life force the same way May’s Gardevoir uses Dream Eater,” the older boy says seriously as he flops over on the bed. “Maybe even worse than that, actually. But that’s okay, since you can always—”

“No.”

A pause.

“No?”

Wally shakes his head, gazing up at his friend with kind, sympathetic eyes. He’s given it a lot of thought, really mulled over it in his mind, and the only thing he can conclude is: “I can’t help you anymore.”

“But... why? What’s wrong?” His friend looks taken aback, a little hurt, even, and Wally wants nothing more to wipe that expression off his face. He’s about to explain himself when Brendan blurts, “Is it because I’m too overbearing and annoying, or something?”

“W-what? No! _No_ , that’s not what I meant at _all_ —”

“Or maybe because I’m foolish enough to think that May could ever like me back?”

“Brendan, no, please, just—listen to me—”

“Maybe I really am stupid.” He chuckles weakly, sounding so defeated all of a sudden. A deflated balloon. “I’m really sorry for the trouble, Wally, I just—”

“ _BRENDAN._ ”

The older boy is stunned into silence, and for good reason—for all the time they’ve known each other, Wally has never been annoyed to the point of raising his voice before. He tries his best to be calm and patient and understanding, because the last thing this world needs is more abuse in verbal form.

And yet here he is, chest heaving and cheeks pinking, fuming at Brendan because—ugh, he can be so _dense_ sometimes.

“Look, Brendan,” Wally begins, feeling a lot more level-headed after his outburst. “I admire your determination, I really do, but... I just don’t think this is _right_. See, I’m not the one who’s head over heels for May; _you_ are.”

“Yeah.” His friend exhales. “Yeah, I know.”

“No, you don’t,” he says gently, a small, wry smile quirking the corners of his lips. “If you did, we wouldn’t be sitting here, staring at our hands and wondering where you’d gone wrong.” When Brendan stays silent, he continues, “I said I can’t help you anymore, but only because this is something you have to do for yourself.

“Don’t ask me for advice this time, and just... think about it: what would _you_ do to win over May’s heart?”

.

“Me, huh,” Brendan murmurs thoughtfully, removing his hat to run a hand through his windswept hair. Once he recalls Salamence, he clips the pokéball to his belt and follows the path back to Littleroot Town. “What would _I_ do...”

The boy frowns, scuffing at the gravel with his boots. “The problem is that I don’t _know_ what to do. That’s why I looked for Wally in the first place.”

Learning is a life-long passion for him. His father had taught him all he needed to know about pokémon, and he’d been delighted to soak up everything like a sponge; from abilities to natures, strengths to weaknesses—you name it, he’s got it. Knowing is half the battle won, after all.

But then when he’d met May, it was like his whole world had been turned upside down. The girl had somehow managed to defy his wealth of knowledge at every turn, winning heated battles against all odds, confronting pokémon that were the stuff of _legends_ —

And most of all, stealing his heart without even having to try.

May is just so brilliant that Brendan can only scramble to look suave and composed and intelligent, when really his hands are clammy and his mouth is dry and he’s just a complete _dork_ when it comes to her.

Seriously, though, he’s got it _so_ bad. All his rational thoughts fly right out of the window when it comes to her—what happened at the Elite Four the other time was more than enough proof.

He clasps his hands together behind his head with a shudder at that particularly embarrassing memory—before stumbling in alarm when he finds himself bare inches away from walking straight into a brick wall.

Oh, he’s outside May’s home. Brilliant.

Brendan’s about to turn on his heel towards his own house when his ears pick up the familiar white noise of the television droning on.

Oh, she’s at home. Great.

He ambles closer and, without a second thought, raps his knuckles against the window next to the front door. Inside, May jolts at the sound, whipping her head over to where he has his hands and face plastered against the clear surface.

Oh, he’s acting like a creepy stalker. Nice—woah, wait, _what_.

The boy’s eyes widen as he processes the situation at hand; dear god, what on earth was he _thinking_ , he still doesn’t know what to do or say, this is really, _really_ bad, oh no she’s already making her way towards him come on Birch you’ve got this so think fast think fast _think fast_ —

Without warning, May slides the window open to prop her elbows against the windowsill, causing his face to be squished to one side. “Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry! You alright?”

_Deep breaths now. In, out. In, out._

“Y-yeah, just dandy,” he mumbles, rubbing his nose. It’s probably a little red from the small scrape, but nothing big. “On the bright side, I’ll look more like Rudolph this way and you can say Christmas came a little early this year.”

May’s laughter is high and sweet like a songbird’s. “What? Pfft, that’s silly! Whatcha doin’ here, anyway?”

Brendan stares, and for a single moment, everything else melts away. There’s no pressure to say something witty, no insecurities dragging him down, no trees rustling behind him—just him and her, and nothing else.

_What would you do..._

“Brendan? Yoo-hoo, anybody in there?”

Spurred by a sudden surge of confidence, he reaches through the window to cup her face in both hands, marvelling at how smooth and soft her skin feels. Her cheeks warm under his touch, and she peers up at him through long lashes and a dash of uncertainty.

“A-ah, Brendan...?”

_...to win over May’s heart?_

And just like that, the answer to Wally’s seemingly impossible question is right there in his grasp. It’s been there all along, but no amount of knowledge in the world could’ve told him what sheer instinct just did in the span of a heartbeat.

This, he thinks as he closes the distance between their lips, this is what I would do.

.

“Oh,” May manages to squeak when they part for air, colour dusting over her cheekbones. “Oh, so... um, _wow_. That was... wow.”

“Wow, indeed,” Brendan agrees. For once the girl’s motor-mouth is malfunctioning, but he’s far too dazed to crow about this rare achievement.

Still.

_You’ve got this, Birch._

He drops his voice by a few octaves, reaching one hand up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “You do know what this means, right, May?”

Her face grows even redder. “Yeah. I mean, _yeah_ , you—ah, you like me. Right?”

Brendan snorts. After the sheer number of hoops he’d jumped through to get here—not forgetting the way he’d dragged his poor friend around like a rag-doll, he should probably send Wally a thank-you card later—‘like’ is a _huge_ understatement and shouldn’t be posed as a question at this point.

Honestly, this silly girl will be the death of him.

In spite of himself, he grins. Shakes his head in disbelief, and responds by simply pulling her in for another kiss.

.

_i didnt want to do it, but i cant stop now;_  
look at whatcha done—  
yeah, you made me fall in love. 

.  
 **omake:**  


“You’re laaaaate!”

“Yes, I know, I’m sorry,” Steven soothes, brushing his lips against her temple apologetically. He looks up at Dusknoir floating above them, silent as a grave, and nods once in greeting. “I was just held up by Brendan and May, that’s all.”

“Brendan?” The lady’s nose wrinkles in bafflement, before her entire face brightens. “Ah, I see! The boy from _that_ incident!”

Steven assumes an affronted expression. Says, with an air of seriousness and a comically straight face, “Phoebe, I thought we agreed never to speak of _that_ again.”

She giggles, swaying from side to side to flutter her skirt against her legs. “Ooh, I remember now! After May was crowned Champion and gave you a biiiiig, sweeeeet hug, he ordered Swampert to use Muddy Water and swept you into the wall!”

“Phoebe.”

“But it was so funny, teehee!”

“ _Phoebe._ ”

The lady raises her hands and nods at the space next to her, giving him an innocent look. “Hey, I wouldn’t have remembered if Emily hadn’t reminded me!”

Steven turns his gaze to that same space. Emily, according to Phoebe, is the little girl who likes to lurk around in her Elite Four room and sometimes follows her around. “How could you, Emily,” he mumbles in mock-betrayal. “I thought you liked me!”

“She _approves_ of you,” Phoebe corrects. “Emily thinks you’re good for me—whatever _that_ means...”

The man chuckles, wrapping an arm around her waist to bring her closer. “It’s true,” he admits, pressing a kiss to her cheek with a soft, polished shine to his eyes. “We’re both good for each other.”

.  
 **owari.**  
.  
.  
.

**Author's Note:**

>  **disclaimer:** i do not own Pokémon, Adam Lambert’s _Things I Didn’t Say_ or Megan Nicole’s _Look at Whatcha Done_.


End file.
